Unfolding God’s Kingdom Purpose
Prison Fellowship International’s mission inspires me: to transform the lives of prisoners, their families and victims through a global network of ministry partners.
This short sentence encapsulates some of the things God has called us to do. Why am I so confident in asserting this?
Because in Luke 4, Jesus (the God who both spoke creation into being and who put on flesh) stood up in a synagogue in Nazareth and is handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah which said, “The Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.”
That is what was spoken in Nazareth – a royal declaration that is utterly true and dependable, an official order that has the force of law. And Psalm 19:9 declares that “The Lord’s decrees are trustworthy.”
Many decades later, in Revelation 5, John sees a vision of a Lamb on a throne (another picture representation of Jesus) who takes and opens a scroll.
I can’t prove it, but it makes sense to me that the Holy Spirit is revealing the significance of the previous event in Nazareth that John may have seen or heard about. Whether this is the case or not, as John looks back on his life and what he has witnessed, he sees Jesus in a new light. He sees Jesus in His universal and cosmic kingship role – the only one who has the right to unfold God’s kingdom purposes on Earth because of His completed work in His life, death, resurrection and ascension.
The continued opening of the scroll (which is creating a massive impact in our world – one that you and I are involved in through our work) will not end until He comes again. It is royally decreed by the One to whom all authority and power has been given.
The same powerful person who spoke our world into being and inspired the words that were spoken in the synagogue in Isaiah has called you and me into His service, into something big, something beyond mere human comprehension.
Here at Prison Fellowship International, we are here to serve you, dear brothers and sisters. Five years ago, we updated our mission statement to identify you, the amazing people on the front lines, as the people that we serve alongside prisoners, their families and victims.
I want to honor you today and say thank you. Thank you for all that you are doing. Thank you for your vision. Thank you for your obedience to God’s call. Thank you for walking the faithful way over the many, many years that you have served. Now is time to recommit ourselves and kick on. Now is the time to continue moving forward in this God-given mission.